There are two kinds of “angry” reactions we often see in life, two kinds of outrage. Most often we see them in politics, and don’t know which side to trust.
One voice is when you’re guilty, and it’s a fake outrage. When someone is afraid of being caught, they often double down and begin attacking the other side. This outrage comes from a place of fear. Because it projects its own guilt onto the other party, its voice is full of judgement and hatred. And because this hatred is of such longstanding vitriol towards its own shadow, there’s Real Fire behind it. This kind of outrage looks so real, most of us take this stance for honesty and clarity. It looks strong and sturdy, like an exclamation point.
Instead, the person who is not guilty is going to be assertive, yes, but at the bottom you can feel a sadness. They are wounded by these accusations, so there is a feeling of unfairness. Their faith in truth and justice is being put to the test. They can’t believe they are being accused of this thing which they did not do, so their outrage comes more from a question mark. It is neither sturdy nor arrogant, but confused. “What? What? Why are you doing this to me?”, is what they seem to be saying.
So we hear two sides attacking each other, and most of us have been trained to believe that the one who is most self-righteous and angry is the one telling the truth… until we develop the capacity to read between the lines. We need to feel what kind of energy comes from each of the two sides.
So, after getting fooled over and over by people I trusted, I finally decided that it was time to learn how to be a good judge of character. I had to stop listening to the words they spoke.
I had to begin listening with my heart.
Joy Biscuits 